Most Internet Users Believe We’re Better off Thanks to the World Wide Web

You don’t have to search hard to find articles about how technology is ruining our lives, how the internet is full of predators, how the web has taken away our ability to communicate face-to-face with another human being.

I say, baloney. The internet is a good thing. It’s helped us break down global and cultural barriers. It’s given people a way to turn their entrepreneurial dreams into a reality. And it’s made us smarter. Truly, I believe that.

90% of internet users say the internet has been a good thing for them personally and only 6% say it has been a bad thing, while 3% volunteer that it has been some of both.

76% of internet users say the internet has been a good thing for society, while 15% say it has been a bad thing and 8% say it has been equally good and bad.

I’m so happy to see these stats. I’m going to print that chart and carry it around in my wallet. At least once a month, I’m caught in a conversation where I have to defend the internet and my choice to make a living on the web. Sure, there are bad things and bad people on the internet, but the same can be said for the “real” world.

And like it or not, we’re here and we’re so attached that we can’t go back. Look at the rise in internet usage over the past few years.

87% of American adults use the internet. In households earning more than $75,000 a year, it’s 99%. People with a college degree it’s 97%. People between 18-29, it’s 97%.

Another couple of years and we’ll have maxed out in the US.

Then we move to mobile. Cell phone ownership rose from 53% in 2000 to 90%. Smartphone ownership is up from 35% in 2011 to 58% now.

We’ve become so attached to the internet that 46% of users say it would be very hard to give it up. Only 17% couldn’t live without their landline telephone. But ouch. . . only 10% said they couldn’t live without social media. (Hear that Facebook!)

Pew found more evidence that disputes all those crazy claims about the internet ruining our society.

67% said that the ability to communicate online has strengthened their relationship with friends and family. And I’m really bolstered by the fact that 76% said that people on the internet are mostly kind to each other. Many people mentioned incidents where people got together online to help out someone who needed assistance, or to help a community solve a problem.

Sadly, younger users were more likely to experience bad behavior on the internet. 44% said they’ve witnessed people being unkind to others online and 39% said they’ve had to leave an online group because people were mean. These numbers are much higher than in any other age group.

As bad as that sounds, it goes a long with life in general, doesn’t it? There’s as much bullying in school as there is on Facebook. But it’s not all bad. 69% of 18-29’s also said they’ve witnessed an online group helping someone. How often does that happen in high school?

The internet has given us all an amazing opportunity to connect with people we never would have met otherwise. That’s good for each of us as a person and for us all as a society.

Happy birthday, internet – I’m so glad we met.

clara

if you want to be rude to someone the easiest way is to use the internet, it is harder to be rude to someone when talking over the phone, and the hardest is face to face.
Consequently more people will be rude over the internet. Data from sales research.

http://ww.pvariel.com Philip Verghese Ariel

Very informative statistic, yes, internet is proved its base among the people, without it, it is hard to live in LOL
Kudos to the founder/inventor of these technologies. Keep Going.:-) thanks Cynthia for sharing this informative piece.
Best Regards
Phil

http://www.mynotetakingnerd.com/blog Lewis LaLanne – NoteTakingNerd

When the telephone turned 25, I imagine there were still some Luddites hating on it.

50 years later though, I can’t imagine anyone believing the telephone was a bad thing. I think the same thing will happen for the internet when it turns 50 and has become even easier for the people resisting it now to use for their specific pleasures and convenience.

But I’m one of the 96% who are head over heels in love with the web and I very much look forward to the innovations to come.

cimarron

OK my question is ; if I dont allow cookies to be store in my computer Im not able to go into any sites, is this tipe off survilence the norme and is it legal? any info helpfull